Spring Commencement Planned for May 11

Thursday, April 18, 2013

About 375 students will participate in Spring Commencement for Fairmont State University at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 11, in the Feaster Center. Video from the ceremony will be streamed live at www.fairmontstate.edu/live.

“As a graduate of Fairmont State myself, I know firsthand the life-changing power of a higher education degree. Our graduates are equipped to enter the workforce as highly-qualified and well-prepared employees,” said FSU President Maria Rose. “Our faculty and staff take pride in watching students walk across the stage during the ceremony.”

Dr. Paul L. Hill, Chancellor, West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, will be the Spring Commencement speaker. Stacy E. Schulman of Wilmington, N.C., will be the student speaker representing the Class of 2013.

A reception in Gym 1 on the first floor of the Falcon Center immediately will follow the ceremony. The reception will include refreshments, and guests will be able to have free souvenir photos taken at two photo booths provided by Snap Shop. The Fairmont State Alumni Association will host an information booth in the second floor Main Street area of the Falcon Center where the new graduates can update their contact information.

Handicapped parking will be available for the event, and staff from the Department of Public Safety will be on hand to direct traffic. The Feaster Center parking lot located directly across Squibb Wilson Boulevard from the Duvall-Rosier Field parking lot will be used for handicapped parking. This lot allows guests to enter the Feaster Center directly onto the arena floor. Seating will be available on the bottom rows of the arena for those with special needs. For more information, call the Office of Disability Services at (304) 367-4686 or the Department of Public Safety at (304) 367-4157.

Sign language interpreting services will be provided during the ceremony. The Office of Disability Services also will provide an Access Kiosk in the Feaster Center during the ceremony that will feature personal FM listening systems. Commencement programs also will be available in large print and Braille.

Dr. Paul L. Hill was named Chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission on May 18, 2012. He previously served as the system’s Interim Chancellor beginning in January 2012 and as Vice Chancellor for Science and Research beginning in 2007. He also served as Executive Director of the West Virginia Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (WVEPSCoR), a state-based program of the National Science Foundation (NSF), and helped design and manage a number of research initiatives with academic institutions, including: the West Virginia Research Trust Fund, known as “Bucks for Brains,” the West Virginia Research Challenge Fund and the West Virginia Eminent Scholars Initiative. He formerly held a research position at West Virginia University and served as a faculty member at the University of Charleston. Before joining WVEPSCoR in 2001, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, appointed by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Hill has more than 25 years of experience in academic research, grant administration and public policy development and has held CEO positions in state, federal and private organizations. He has appeared before Congress on numerous occasions and provided congressional testimony on science, technology and education policy. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) and the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS). Recently, Hill became a member of State Higher Education Executive Officers’ (SHEEO) Federal Relations Committee and was appointed by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin to the Southern Region Education Board (SREB).

A native West Virginian, Hill holds degrees from Marshall University (B.S. and M.S.) and the University of Louisville (Ph.D.) in biology and chemistry. He studied at the University of Louisville's Systems Science Institute.

A graduate of Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville, N.C., Stacy E. Schulman is the daughter of the late Ernest Claude Kelly and Terrie Doerr Schulman of Elkins. She has one brother, CassAndrew Kelly. She will graduate from Fairmont State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. Schulman hopes to pursue a career in public relations and marketing and is applying to graduate schools in Miami and New York.

At FSU, Schulman has been active in Student Government for the past four years, most recently serving as vice president with duties including the planning of Homecoming 2012. She also has served on the Student Government Finance Committee and the Student Judicial Board. She has been a Freshman Counselor, a member of the French Club, the Student Leadership Board, the FSU Dance Team, Tau Kappa Epsilon Sweetheart and a public relations officer for the business student organizations, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and the Information Systems Student Organization (ISSO).

She has participated in different choruses over the past few years, including singing with the West Virginia Symphony. Schulman was a princess in the Forest Festival in Elkins. A native of Wilmington, N.C., she served as assistant coach for the All-Stars Cheer Infinity and participated with the School of Ballet for several years.